1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to turbine devices having bladed rotors for reacting to fluid flow. More particularly, this turbine makes use of ocean wave energy in order to produce power. The repeated and rhythmic coming and going of ocean swells are utilized to produce variations in air pressure that will drive a bladed rotor on a turbine.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The ocean has long been seen by mankind as a source of energy and numerous devices have been developed to harness this abundant source of natural energy. Some of these devices are listed and described below.
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,083,189 issued to Fetkovich discloses an apparatus for utilizing the energy of ocean waves by applying synchronized alternating air pressure to increase the amplitude of the waves until they spill over the confines of the apparatus and onto the blades of a turbine. This device is actively altering the environment of the seawater by alternating the pressure involved. It would be highly desirable and far simpler to extract energy without having to actively work on the environment.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,768,716 issued to Shishkoff describes a water driven motor is used to drive a friction heater which produces steam. This device interacts directly with the tide or current to produce the power. This is unlike the present invention which utilizes the movement of the ocean to produce variances in air pressure to power a turbine.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,249,383 issued to Molini et al. discloses a method and apparatus of extracting electrical power from sea water due to a temperature difference, which is similar in basic operation to the device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,083,189 above. This device is able to obtain a higher efficiency due to its recycling nature.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,309,154 used to Daddario describes a means of powering a pump by the rising and falling of water. The continuous run-off from a flowing source is used to operate a pump to redirect water back to a source above a hydroelectric station. This system helps to eliminate the large sized reservoirs need to operate present day hydroelectric stations. Again, it makes direct use of the water itself and not the changes in air pressure that accompany moving water sources.